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| Bryan Cranston as Walter White in Breaking Bad 1. Details matter. Walter White is a meth cooker, and wears a rubber apron, to complement his underwear, as he doesn't want to go home smelling like meth. Boxers would have been a possibility, but tighy-whities are a detail that adds to the character...and the quirkiness of this show. 2. Show, don't tell. The writers could have told the audience, in just a few bits of dialogue, how desperate one of the characters became by the end of the 4th (and most recent) season. However, at the very end of the season's final episode, a shot of a pot of lillies of the valley showed the desperation. That one shot packed a powerful whallop. 3. Get into your characters. If a writer does not really know their characters, neither will the readers...and the readers won't care about the characters, either. One of the characters, played by Giancarlo Esposito, is the iciest creature I've ever seen walk on two legs. The audience sees his callousness, his calculating-coldness, and his brutal unpredictability. However, the audience also sees his kindhearted side and they see--via flashbacks--what is driving his black heart. 4. Leave 'em wanting more. Keep 'em guessing. Every episode left me on the edge of a cliff. I would wonder, Where is this headed, because I can't see any way out of this corner. And sure enough, there would be a solution, a way out. And I am desperate for more. The final (fifth) season starts up this summer (or so they say). I cannot wait...If your readers know exactly where your story is going--every twist and turn is telegraphed 30 pages before they happen, what is the point in reading it? Sons of Anarchy and (now) Breaking Bad are my guilty pleasures, but since I've frothed at the mouth to everyone I've encountered about Breaking Bad, I guess I'm not feeling too guilty about watching it. How about you? What have you learned about writing via movies or television shows? |
The Pyrenees---Southern France
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Breaking Bad: Everything I Learned About Writing I Learned From Breaking Bad
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Great topic. I have never watched "Breaking Bad"; it looks too scary for little me.
ReplyDeleteI have always had a soft spot for certain medical shows, like "St. Elsewhere", "Mercy", and "Miami Medical" to name a few. It doesn't have to take a long time to introduce a believable character that people can identify with and care about, and if they are facing something big, but universal (illness, disease, career, relationship stuff) it's perfect fodder for story.
Fireblossom--Actually, most of Breaking Bad is NOT scary, although there are whackings. I highly recommend it.
ReplyDeleteYou and I both share a love for St. Elsewhere. It's too bad that shows like that can't go on forever...
You're exactly right. Life-threatening injuries and diseases DO make wonderful fodder.
I hope i didn't sound callous. I was talking about fictional characters.
DeleteGood grief. Looking at my reply to your comment, I'm thinking I was the callous-sounding one. Yes, sometimes St. Elsewhere was almost soap opera-ish, with the romances and professional bickering. And that stuff--the made up stuff--makes wonderful fodder for stories.
DeleteEverything I ever needed to know I learned from Seinfeld. I guess that goes without saying.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I learned from Alex Kingston as Dr. Elizabeth Corday on ER that sometimes, a Thanksgiving centerpiece can be worn as a hat. Which showed me that everyday things can be used as accessories to pretty-up or elicit a laugh from workmanlike prose.
Val--I love the phrase "workmanlike prose." That's a gem.
DeleteI;m with Val on this one. And did you know Giancarlo is a relative?
ReplyDeleteLinda--
DeleteGiancarlo is a relative of yours? You have to give me the details, because I've loved his acting since "Homicide: Life on the Streets."
PS--it has nothing at all to do with writing, but I do have a guilty pleasure on tv: "Wipeout"!
ReplyDeleteI've never even heard of "Wipeout." Is it Emmylou on a surfboard? ;)
DeleteI haven't heard of any of those shows. I'm not a tv person, I guess.
ReplyDeleteNo, of course not. You're too busy writing romance stories that get published. ;)
DeleteRetro TV favorite: "Murder, She Wrote.
ReplyDeleteJessica Fletcher is my hero. She is a writer and a detective rolled into one. She is curious, which is a necessary trait for a writer. She is persistent--also a necessary trait. And she always seems to manage to arrive at the truth--which is a goal writers should strive for.
For more modern TV shows. I love "Castle"--another show about a writer and a detective--although not the same person.
Oh, and "Dance Moms." Such drama, passion, suspense, and bitchiness every week!
OMG! Donna, you said the "b" word. ;)
DeleteI love the reminder about writers being curious. If we don't wonder where our characters are going to go (when writing fiction), if we're not interested in the paths they take, surely the reader won't give a flying fig, either.
I have never seen "Dance Moms" but it sounds like watching it enables you to get in touch with a side you don't have. (Others not as nice as you might watch it to sharpen their nails.)
Hi Sioux,
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen this yet ... but here I am just discovering Criminal Minds and SVU re-runs. I will watch it now. You always make laugh! Thanks so much for all the sweet things that you wrote yesterday, I appreciate you very much.
Kathy M.
Kathy--Yes, thank goodness for re-runs. I've discovered some gems that way as well.
DeleteI adore Breaking Bad, but also like The Newsroom, Fringe and Girls. I think Breaking Bad is hands down, the best written. But, I often feel as I did when I used to watch The Sopranos, as if my heart was ready to break.
ReplyDelete